Window-shade holder



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE C. SPICER, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

WINDOW-SHADE HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,595, dated November 25, 1890.

Application filed June 5, 1890. Serial No. 354,365. (No model.)

-To all whom it may concern:

.I Be it known that I, AMBRosE C. SPIGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State in devices for adjusting a curtain or shade roller or similar curtain-support, so that it may occupy any desired height with relation to the window with which it is used, the object of the invention being to provide efcient and useful means for arranging a curtain-roller at any desired height without the sacrifice of any of the advantages belonging to the curtain-roller ordinarily employed, which occupies a fixed and non-removable position at the top of the window; and the invention therefore consists, essentially, in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is a side elevation of a window-frame provided with my improved ythe invention.

Like letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different iigures of the drawings.

The castings at the lower ends of the guiderails are used only for the purpose of fastening the rails in position, but the castings at the upper ends of the guide-rails serve the double purpose of securing said guide-rails in place and providing supporting devices for the draw-cords, which are operated to lift and lower the curtain-roller.

A denotes a window-frame of any desired shape, size, and kind, my invention being equally applicable to window-frames of all kinds. illustration simply. It has the uprights or jambs a a.

E denotes a curtain or shade roller, which may be a spring-roller or any other kind, as may be preferred.

Hence the frame A is taken by way of B B denote vertical guide-rails, made of wood, metal, or any other substance, and having the longitudinal grooves b extending from end to end thereof. These grooved guiderails are, in that form of the invention shown in Figs. I and 2, firmly secured to the inner opposing faces of the jambs o a, closely adjacent to the window-sash. At the upper and also at the lower end of each guide-rail is secured a casting, which assists in keeping the guide-rail in position as well as performing other functions, which will be hereinafter described. Said castings are secured to the jambs and have projecting parts that enter the ends of the grooves in Ythe guide-rails. Said guide-rails are usually attached to the jambs by means of screws passing through the bottom of the grooves and entering the jambs; but these castings help to keep the rails in position, besides presenting an ornamental appearance.

L L denote the castings at the lower end of l end of one of the guide-rails, preferably that on the left side of the window, while C is the casting located at the upper end of the other guide, preferably that on the right-handside of the window. Said castings C and C. are shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 5. bothhave oppositely-proj ecting Shanks, which are perforated at c3 for the passage of the screws D D, which enter the jambs and securely fasten the castings C and C in place.

The said screws D D, as well as the aforesaid screws M M, are preferably provided with orr grooves.

at d2. 2o the projections d d are adapted to receive the 5o receives the iiat journal .I of the roller.

6o the roller-journal K.

namental heads. The casting C has a down ward projection c, which enters the upper end of the groove in the left-hand guide-rail B, while the casting C has likewise a bottom 5 projection e, which enters the upper end of the groove in the right-hand guide-rail B. The casting C also has a vertical passage c therein, the side wall of which is perforated at c2. Through this perforation c2 and downio ward through the passa-ge c into the groove b of the guide-rail B passes the draw-cord m, the function of which will be hereinafter ex plained. The casting C has two parallel npward projections d d, between which are It also has a vertical. groove d leading into one of the grooves made by the projections d. d. Furthermore, the outer ends of these projections d d are concaved or rounded (See Fig. 5.) The grooves made by two draw-cords to wit, the draw-cord m and the draw-cord u. Said draw-cord 'n passes through one of the said grooves and then downward through the passage d into the groove b, found in the right-hand vertical guide-rail B. Thus the cord m passes from the left hand of the window transversely across to the right hand through one of the grooves made by the projections d d in the casting C',

3o and thence downward, while the other cord fn.,

running up from the right-hand end of the roller, passes through the other groove in the casting C', and thence back downward along- Vside the cord m, said cords being connected together at a suitable point, so that one cord may be located at the right hand of the window to be grasped by the operator for the purpose of manipulating the curtain-roller, said cord being preferably attached to a projec- 4o tion-as, forinstance, the screw-head G, which is aiiixed to the side of the window, around which the cord is easily wound. The curtainroller E has at one end the round projection or journal II and at the other end the flat pro-v jection or journal J, said journal having thereon a shoulder or rabbet or notch.

XVithin the groove Z) of the left-hand guiderail B is a vertically-movable slide I, which is preferably hollow, and has a side slot j, which rlhe upper end of this slide I is perforated to receive the end of the draw-cord m., which passes through this perforated end and is knotted on the under side, thus being iirml y connected to the slide I.

IVithin the groove of the guide-rail I3, at the righthand side of the window-frame, is a vertically-movable slide Il', which has a side perforation 7i; therein, through which passes Said slide II has in its upper end a perforation 7a, through which enters the draw-cord ln, said cord being knotted on the under side of the upper end of the slot so as to be thus firmly connected thereto.

"lhe roller E may be a spring-roller, or not, as

desired. It is unnecessary to explain further its detailed construction, as when it is to be used for a spring-roller any of the ordinary spring devices may be employed with it. lurthermore, it may be proper to state that the slides within cach of the guide-rails may be constructed similarly, and I do not intend to be confined to the precise construction herein given.

In operating my improved device all that the operator needs to do is to manipulate the draw-cord, and the result of this manipulation will be to lift or lower the roller E horizontally and thus situate it at any desired height where it will be located with sufficient firmness and strength to perform all its functions.

It is sometimes found desirable to locate the guide-rails at a little distance from the window-sash instead of securing them direct-ly to the jamb. In cases where this is preferred I provide brackets, as shown in Fig. E denotes one of these brackets. It has a socket f bored with a central passage, which receives a round pin or upward projection b on the upper end of the guide-rail B. The bracket, furthermore, has loops g g, and it is provided with the set-screw F, which passes through the side of the socket f and bears upon the pin D within the central passage of said socket. At the lower end of the guiderail l5 is a similar bracket to the bracket E, constructed in the saine manner, and having a socket which receives the pin b on the lower end of the guide-rail B. Thus it will be observed that when the guide-rails are not connected to the jamb, but are removed a slight distance therefrom and supported by means of projecting sockets, the castings located at the upper and lower ends of the guide-rails are dispensed with, and the said brackets perform all the functions of the said castings. The

draw-cords m and nwill pass th rough the loops g g in the bracket, so as to operate in the same manner that they operate in connection with the grooves and other parts of the castings C and O. It will be noted that in this case I employ grooved guides located on the inner opposing faces of the window-frame. In anotherpendin g oaseof mine, Serial No. 354,364, I have shown other means for supporting the slides, consisting of vertical rods secured alongside of the window-frame.

Ilaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l l. The combination of the vertical guiderails, the castings at the lower ends of these guide-rails having projections that enter the IOO IIO

grooves of said guides and serving to fasten grooved guide rails, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the roller and its slides, the `grooved guides Within which said slides operate, and the upper castings C and C', said casting C being at the upper end of one guide-rail and having the downward projection c and the passage o', and the castin g C at the upper end of the other guide-rail, having the projections cl d, and the passage d', together with the draw-cords m and n, one of which is attached to one slide and the other to the other slide, substantially as described.

3. In combination with the grooved guides,

the lower castings L L, having projections Z Z, that enter the grooves of the guides, and the upper castings C and C', having projections that enter the grooves of the guides, said casting C having a passage c', and said casting C having the projections d d, all in combination with a shade or curtain roller having slides which operate Within the guides.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature i presence of two Witnesses.

AMBROSE C. SPICER.

Wl tnesses:

W. E. JOHNSON, HALE JULIAN SPICER. 

